Overview - History
The Unoceramica company, which forms part of the Giovanni Colamedici Group based in Civita Castellana, was founded in 2007 after the merging of two companies:- Axa and Whitestone. The Axa company was established in 1996 as a specialist in shower trays and sanitary ware ranges in fireclay and vitreous-china, whereas the Whitestone company arose in 2003 as a producer in overtop wash basins destined to furniture makers. Sergio Miccini, the general manager of Unoceramica, explains the union of the two brands: “We wanted to give a new impulse to the technological and productive innovations, by renewing the range of products and giving way to a course of design research which involved both brands”. Technological and productive excellence Unoceramica has combined Axa and Whitestone’s productive systems by setting them up according to a criteria of “dynamic” quality: the qualitative parameters of reference are constantly monitored so that each maintenance action can be verified. Once the fixed targets are reached, another program is formulated which lifts the qualitative index of reference even higher. By starting off with a quality control of the raw materials and of the semi finished and finished products, so as to verify their congruity compared to the standard parameters of the productive process, the company has further elaborated its qualitative research towards four main directions:
the selection of new and more effective raw materials;
the formulation of whiter mixtures with better mechanical and thermoplastic characteristics;
the production of more brilliant and polished enamel, characterized by a higher resistance to chemical agents and detergents;
the elaboration of innovative productive processes aimed towards the production of new ergonomic and aesthetic solutions Unoceramica is part of a limited group of sanitary ware producers marked by the Ceramics of Italy brand, Made in Italy emblem of quality and creativity.
Those enterprises which are able to unite the knowledge of craftsmanship and modern style research, are marked by the Italian industry with this brand of excellence, giving rise to design productions which do not neglect the respect for the environment and safety in the work areas. The designers At the beginning of the year 2000, Axa meets Marc Sadler and begins a collaboration with the designer who redirects the strategies. After having consolidated its position in the market, Axa gives rise to an accurate process of positioning completing its production with accessories and round sanitary ranges. In the meantime a collaboration with other designers begins, Massimiliano Cicconi, Daniele Menichini, Studio Triplan, Studio Valeri e Carlo Urbinati for Whitestone. In 2009 the architect and designer Romano Adolini gives a new twist to Axa and Whitestone’s production reorganizing their ranges and giving rise to the Atmosfere 01 program: a bathroom range which also involves the Colacril company (part of the Colamedici Group) and includes a total of 50 components such as sanitary ware items, bath tubs, showers, shower boxes and accessories.
Information: www.axaonline.it Tel. +39 0761-540175 AXA COLLECTIONS 138 (Romano Adolini) A range of sanitary-sculpture which protrudes from the wall without any continuity solutions and with an inclination of 138°. Hence the name of the series, available in a floor standing or wallhung version, particularly “spectacular” as well as functional.
CONTEA Contea is the ideal solution for those who prefer a classical furnishing with retro and elegant tones, but at the same time original and able to harmoniously fit in with more modern environments. The entire range is only available in the floor standing version and can be embellished by the installation of a low level flushing cistern.
ONE It is named Axa One due to the fact that it is proposed as a basic, young and universal range. The wallhung wc and bidet’s “soft” design suggests the sub-maxillary pouch of a pelican. The wc and bidets forming part of the Evolution variant, do not have any interruption in their curvature but go straight to the floor leaving a pleasant and innovative effect.
DUE (Studio Valeri) A flexible collection, characterized by more defined forms but in some way “sister” of the One range.
XTRE (Studio Valeri) The X-Tre range recalls the recent ‘70s as well as futuristic details and is distinguished by its square but also soft contours. Axa X-Tre is a flexible, compact and comfortable collection, with a perfect quality-price ratio.
MOSS (Studio Triplan) Designed for Sergio Miccini, the range is characterized by the elements’ extreme lightness whose external profiles simply follow those of the pure and simple structure. The “aerial” aspect is guaranteed by the ceramic which describes a slightly curved top around the siphons, both in the wash basins (wallhung or overtop) and in the wc and bidet available in the suspended and floor versions.
THAJ SHOWER TRAY (Studio Valeri) The Thaj shower tray is realized in a precious MAT ceramic, giving it an “ashlar” or “quilted” effect which increases the foot’s adherence and the anti-slip effect. It guarantees a pleasant plantar massage at the same time (a recall to the Thaj massage). Available in three sizes: 72x90, 80x80 and 90x90 cm.
CERAMIC TRADITION OF CIVITA CASTELLANA The first ceramic art manifestations in Falerii Veteres, today’s Civita Castellana, date back to 1000BC, almost to the beginning of the Iron Age. Around 1200, with the continuous progress of ceramic art in Italy, Civita Castellana’s antique shops were replaced by majolica pottery and white earthenware items, which helped to make most of the local raw materials. Buonaccorsi, Consalvo Adorno, Giuseppe Valadier and the Mizielli brothers are the names that began to distinguish themselves in the ceramic production of those times.
At the beginning of 1900 Antonio Coramusi, member of a family traditionally dedicated to the production of ceramics, was the first person who developed a branch of the sanitary industry, giving rise to a transformation process of Civita Castellana’s ceramic production, hitherto purely artistic. Within a few decades this sector’s fortune completely supplanted the older ceramic production. The first major factories were built in the late ‘60s, in the midst of the economic boom.
Today the production has reached technical and dimensional levels, making it the first industrial pole in the sector covering almost 50% of the national ceramic production, merely directed to the sanitary ware and table ware fields. This is why Civita Castellana, for years now, has constituted the main industrial reality in Viterbo, a true “industrial island” in a purely agricultural province.
Civita Castellana is located in a geological environment and is composed by tertiary formations, especially from the Miocene and Pliocene periods. Masses of tufa, pozzolana and other volcanic minerals have covered most of these formations. Amongst the largest tertiary formations, masses of clay are found, some rich in lime and iron. Others however, can be counted among the aluminium silicates, pure enough to be used in the most valuable ceramic production. These raw materials of exceptional quality, offered the advantage of being produced “in situ” with considerable savings on the cost of production. One of the reasons why the artifacts of Civita Castellana have always been able to guarantee a particular competitiveness in different markets.
|